Florida House of Representatives Commerce Committee Passes No-Fault Insurance Repeal

The Florida House of Representatives Commerce Committee (“Committee”) met yesterday, November 7, 2017, to discuss HB 19 relating to Motor Vehicle Insurance by State Representative Erin Grall.

To access complete bill information, click here.

HB 19 aims to repeal Florida’s Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law.  Also known as Personal Injury Protection insurance or “PIP,” the law requires vehicle owners and operators to obtain and maintain the coverage, which provides $10,000 in medical, disability and funeral expenses without regard to fault in accident.  PIP coverage is subject to a limit of $2,500 for non-emergency medical care and affords vehicle owners and operators immunity from tort claims within the limits of the law.

The long-running effort to repeal No-Fault moved quickly yesterday, with HB 19 passing its only House committee stop by a vote of 18 to 7 after being amended by the sponsor.

The bill is now ready for the House floor.   A similar proposal, SB 150, has been filed in the Senate and received three committee assignments.

By no longer having to pay for the No-Fault portion of car insurance, which has been long plagued by fraud and high costs, drivers could save up to $81 per car or nearly $1 billion annually statewide according to actuarial reports, the Committee was told.  

Past reform attempts have failed to prevent rising premiums for coverage that duplicates health insurance most drivers already have-either from Medicare or other health plans, it was explained.

However, health care providers and some insurers voiced opposition to HB 19 as written, and have requested that the bill be amended to more closely mirror to the Senate version from last Session that required “medical payments” coverage to ensure emergency medical providers receive at least some reimbursement.

Supporters of HB 19 said yesterday that, by requiring “medical payments” coverage, the bill would merely rename PIP and wipe out most savings a policyholder would receive on his or her car insurance bills.

In its current form, HB 19 is nearly identical to legislation that passed the House during the 2017 Session.

Hyperlinks to news coverage of yesterday’s developments is provided below:

• PIP repeal: House panel votes to overturn no-fault plan in Florida
• Florida PIP Auto Insurance Repeal Speeds Toward House Floor
• House PIP repeal legislation clears its only committee

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